Thank God it’s… Thursday!

Manpriya Singh 

Not that the fate of a Rajinikanth film depends on any weekend (or weekday for that matter) at the box-office, but the fact that it chose a Thursday over a Friday calls for a momentary pause. Taking us straightaway back to all those releases in the last quarter of this year that replaced the industry infamous Fridays at the BO? So is Thursday the new Friday? Well, not really, but kind of! Those in the film business speak out. 

Long weekend or shorter weekdays, those behind the ticket windows view things differently. “Producers stand to benefit the most out of this arrangement since for them it is weekend plus another day of business at the box-office. This way the weekend starts early. Otherwise, next Friday means several new films to compete with,” North-India based distributor Raj Juneja, who is also a representative of all films, speaks out. 

Famous Friday

Though the famous Fridays at the box-office remain the same, save for a few exceptions that have increased.  Festival time means holidays, which in effect means weekend. “That’s why during Diwali, Eid and Christmas we see a lot of big banners releasing their movies. The entire week is holiday time so the concept of weekend changes. Also people who are free during festival period will go watch a movie if nothing else,” observes Raj. 

Not to forget, the race for opening figures that needs to be impressive. There is another reason for Thursdays being lapped up a little more readily. “The student crowd that usually hits theatres on Mondays due to low weekday rates then prefers a Thursday. Also several movie reviews and public verdict doesn’t trickle in until Fridays, thereby giving producers the benefit of one day both in case of collections and negative reviews,” shares the operations manager of a cinema hall, on condition of anonymity. 

There are big banners, promising films and then of course there are stars like Rajinikanth, who can choose to release a film on any given day.  “Normally a Thursday release is scheduled during festival time, but a Rajinikant-starrer can choose a Thursday just like that. May be for the benefit of an extended weekend,” opines Praveen Nagar, unit manager, Raj Hans Cinema, Panchkula.